Miss Louisiana Holli' Conway was second runner up to Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin (New York).
Miss Connecticut Bridget Oei was first runner up, Miss Florida Taylor Tyson was third runner up and Miss Massachusetts Gabriela Taveras was fourth runner up.
The Miss America Pageant is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Preliminaries were last week and the finals were broadcast live on Sunday.
This was the first year the scholarship contest was revamped as Miss America 2.0. The swimsuit competition was dropped. Instead, the program focused on empowering women.
Contestants asked each other questions on-stage, which counted for 25 percent of the score.
The Red Carpet replaced evening wear. Contestants were asked to pick an outfit that showed their personalities and share a message.
The competition kept its talent portion, a hallmark that differentiates it from the Miss USA pageants.
Preliminary and on-stage scores were tallied to determine the Top 5, and finalists were determined by the last on-stage question asked by the judges. Contestants had 20 seconds to answer.
Conway was named Thursday's preliminary talent winner for her vocal performance of Fantasia's "I Believe."
She referenced uplifting others during all of her on-stage answers.
Her personal platform, InspHIGHER, is a motivational program that guides men, women and children as they strive to reach their highest aptitudes.
Sunday also was Conway's 24th birthday.
Online
For more information visit www.misslouisiana.org or www.missamerica.org.
Miss America 2.0: Miss Louisiana wins talent preliminary
